Billy is Back

There is absolutely no justification for this kind of action, if this is really what happened (and even if the account of the encounter is not 100% true, no justification for somebody setting someone on fire).

But there is something that strikes me as a little off about this story.

It is not unknown for AT hikers to get off the trail to sight see, but Gettysburg is not considered a resupply town in AT hiker circles. And to be wondering the streets at 1 a.m. (presumably with his pack since he apparently was thought to be homeless) also makes no sense. A hiker in town usually will have grabbed a motel room (usually cheap, which also casts doubt on the Gettysburg stop angle) and will have left their pack in the room as they go about their town chores, be it sight seeing or a trip to the grocery, or even a visit to a local watering hole. Also, 1 a.m. may not seem overly late at night to most of us, but "hiker midnight" is 9 p.m. Hikers are typically exhausted after a long day walking.

Not saying it is not a true story. And surely not saying there was any justification whatsoever if someone set the guy on fire.

Just saying there may well be much more to this story than has been reported.

There is absolutely no justification for this kind of action, if this is really what happened (and even if the account of the encounter is not 100% true, no justification for somebody setting someone on fire).

But there is something that strikes me as a little off about this story.

It is not unknown for AT hikers to get off the trail to sight see, but Gettysburg is not considered a resupply town in AT hiker circles. And to be wondering the streets at 1 a.m. (presumably with his pack since he apparently was thought to be homeless) also makes no sense. A hiker in town usually will have grabbed a motel room (usually cheap, which also casts doubt on the Gettysburg stop angle) and will have left their pack in the room as they go about their town chores, be it sight seeing or a trip to the grocery, or even a visit to a local watering hole. Also, 1 a.m. may not seem overly late at night to most of us, but "hiker midnight" is 9 p.m. Hikers are typically exhausted after a long day walking.

Not saying it is not a true story. And surely not saying there was any justification whatsoever if someone set the guy on fire.

Just saying there may well be much more to this story than has been reported.

cj525 is right, watch out if Freed is AG ... but his reasoning is bass ackwards. Freed is saying since nobody was hurt, he will be "judicious." That is code for let's see if we can sweep this under the table without riling up the NRA zealots.

Forget the fact that vouchers simply do not work. Forget that they are a veiled attempt to put tax dollars in the hands of for profit private corporations. Forget that kids in voucher programs do not get better test scores than those in public schools, or the fact that voucher programs have existed for years in Cleveland and Milwaukee and the schools in both cities still suck. Ignore the fact that studies of the voucher students in D.C., the program Rhee touts, showed those students' achievement did not improve with vouchers. Forget all the other myths and BS voucher proponents spew.

Instead focus on one very simple fact: Vouchers are not constitutional under the Pennsylvania State Constitution. And given that voters consistently reject voucher programs, the odds of getting an amendment passed to the state constitution to allow them are slim and none, and slim is down at the train station waiting for the 12:15 to Albuquerque.

First of all, the jobs projections for these things are almost always overblown and based on scenarios that seldom, if ever, come to fruition. Second, I would bet that if you gave 20,000 unemployed workers $85,000 each it would do a helluva lot more to stimulate the economy and create tax revenues IN PA. than giving it to a multi-national oil conglomerate would.

Oh, wait, we can't do that. When we give help to people -- especially black or brown people -- that is socialism. Only when we give it to white guys in suits is it capitalism.

You corporate toadies can try till you are blue in the face to defend this shenanigans, but truth is, it is indefensible. Our schools are broke. Individual taxpayers are struggling to make ends meet. And you respond with another variation of trickle down economics.

I got news for you folks, that stuff trickling down your leg is not raindrops.

It is not surprising to see such anti-union drivel from a paper that in the past few years busted it's reporters union and replaced many highly qualified, experienced writers with kids right out of college paid $500 a week with no benefits. In fact it is par for the course for a paper owned by billionaires with a history of paying reporters from its papers to work as scabs at papers owned by others during strikes.

And it is also par for the course for the P-N to write a poorly informed editorial to support its position.

But the fact that has been conveniently overlooked is that prevailing wage laws simply do not result in higher building costs and, in fact, weakening such laws doesn't save taxpayers money (though it may well put more of it in the hands of construction company owners and less in the hands of the workers.

Here are the facts: "A study of 15 Great Plains states showed the average cost per square foot of building new schools did not differ significantly between states that had prevailing wage laws and states that did not.
■A comparison of school construction costs between prevailing wage and non-prevailing wage states in the Mountain West and Southwest found that average costs per square foot were actually lower in states with prevailing wage laws.
■ A study of school construction costs in Maryland and other mid-Atlantic states found that prevailing wage laws have no measurable impact on costs.

There’s also evidence that weakening prevailing wage laws actually increases costs in the short-term and long-run. Declining worker productivity means more hours are required to get a particular job done; as morale drops, more time has to be spent fixing mistakes; as experienced and skilled workers move on to better-paying projects, fewer workers commit to apprenticeships, leading to long-term labor shortage."

The Patriot has conveniently ignored the facts in its anti-union fervor. Luckily, this being the era of the modern interweb, you can find the facts yourself at a click of the mouse --

Contrast the time and effort put in by Rutherford and that of the CH girls coach and explain to me how they can honestly open the boys job and not the girls? Include sideline behavior in the analysis and tell me honestly how this is right or just?

Newsflash Patriot-News: It has been decided that it will go at Borough Hall. Another newsflash, that decision is likely illegal (not that anybody expects you to do any actual research or know the facts before spouting an opinion.

The editorial that should be written is one chastising CH borough council for getting involved in the zoning permit process and for the borough manager/zoning officer taking the NIMBYites opinions into concern in granting a permit to the library.

Maybe if someone would bother to read the CH zoning law they'd understand that this was really a simple matter, which was horribly botched to accommodate a few at the expense of the community as a whole.

Because it is Camp Hill, the whole mess will get swept under the table and forgotten. Just the latest chapter in a book full of botched zoning code matters by the borough.

Forget all this ridiculous red herring illegal immigrant bullshit. The simple bottom line is that government has no right to conceal the use of the building. To obtain zoning permits, it must be disclosed and anything in those zoning applications is public record by law. There is no provision in the right to know law that allows for confidentiality agreements that conceal that information from the public.

Might be nice to have this thing written by someone with a little knowledge of their subject matter. The facts in the Camp Hill farmers market situation don't lead to the easy other location solution. The Borough's zoning laws don't provide for a farmers market, so it has to be by variance (long process, not likely, wasn't even discussed) or a temporary permit. The temporary permit, by law, can only be granted to a non-profit. The library has no reason to apply for a permit for a market elsewhere. It was looking at this as a way to bring more people into the library.

And how about JEERS for the CH Borough Council, which never should have waded into a zoning permit issue in the first place. This matter should be decided solely by the zoning officer, who must make a simple decision: The permit request meets the guidelines or it doesn't. Public opinion has nothing to do with it. And by its vote, the council all but directed the zoning officer what decision to make. Even though they called it "non-binding", reality is they told the zoning officer they didn't want him to make a decision in a vacuum (which is exactly how it ought be made), then told him -- their employee -- what decision they thought he should make.

Want to see the money? Take a look at fat cat job killer Mitt's tax return. $45 million the last two years, and the guy didn't even have a job. He was bust campaigning. And after working folks paid for all his tax credits, his income tax bill came to less than 14%.

Guess you can afford to be a homophobic bigot with that kind of cash, especially with your fatcat buddies kicking in billions in secret to superpacs.

This is OK with me, as long as those folks who live by the library agree to never drive to any other parts of town to attend other events. The people near Siebert Park don't want them during football game. The people near Hoover and the High School don't want them coming to school events. And down on the east side of College Park, folks are asking them to stay the heck away from the Little League field. I'm sure they are nice folks, but we don't want them in our back yards.

And what was the council doing voting on something they have no say about? They just completely compromised the zoning officer's independence. He is supposed to decide on a permit based on the law, not on public opinion. If I were the library, I know where I would get my additional funding -- in court.

If it's affecting your health Nancy, move to Arizona. These NIMBYites have no issue with N. 24th or 25th streets being jammed during football games, or the parking in the areas of town near schools or soccer fields. It's OK, as long as it is in somebody else' neighborhood.

This is no major disruption, no major inconvenience. It's one night a week, and an opportunity for folks to by good, locally produced food (hopefully at real farmers market prices, as opposed to the overpriced supermarket produce at the West Shore psuedo-farmers market).